Perth, June 1, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Altech Chemicals Limited (Altech/the Company) (ASX:ATC) (FRA:A3Y) is pleased to announce that it has now received the official manufacturing licence from the Malaysian government for the Company's proposed 4,500tpa high purity alumina (HPA) plant in Johor, Malaysia.

Highlights

- Manufacturing licence received for 4,500tpa HPA plant

- Final instalments paid for Malaysian HPA plant site

- Project continues to progress

In February 2018 the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) advised the Company that its application for a manufacturing licence had been approved and that the licence would be issued subject to the submission of various additional documents, including a letter of 'No Objection' from the Johor state government. The Company received a letter of 'No Objection' from the Johor State Investment Centre during the quarter and has now received the manufacturing licence for its proposed HPA plant.

On 22 May 2018 the Company announced that it had paid the final instalments totalling AU$5.1 million for the HPA plant site in Johor. These final payments secured the site and the Company will receive the deed of title (30 year lease, with the option to renew for an additional 30 years) from the Johor state government in due course.

Altech is delighted with the support that it is receiving for its HPA project from MIDA, Johor Corporation, the state of Johor and the Malaysian federal government. The prompt issuance of the letter of 'No Objection' and Altech's manufacturing licence is testament to support for the project, which will represent a total investment in Malaysia of approximately 1.2 billion ringgit.

HPA is a high-value, high margin and highly demanded product as it is the critical ingredient required for the production of synthetic sapphire. Synthetic sapphire is used in the manufacture of substrates for LED lights, semiconductor wafers used in the electronics industry, and scratch-resistant sapphire glass used for wristwatch faces, optical windows and smartphone components. There is no substitute for HPA in the manufacture of synthetic sapphire.

Global HPA demand is approximately 25,315tpa (2016) and demand is growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.7% (2016-2024), primarily driven by the growth in worldwide adoption of LEDs. As an energy efficient, longer lasting and lower operating cost form of lighting, LED lighting is replacing the traditional incandescent bulbs.